Automatic blocking mechanism for strip-mills



A. SUNDH. AUTOMATIC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR SIRIP MILLS.

APPLICATION mznuowzh'isin. 1,32 ,9 9, v v Patented Jan. 6,1920. 1 l4 suTs-sf4I INVENTOH W! I TTOBNEY A. sumnm AUTOMATIC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP MILLS.

APPLICATIOH FILED NOV. 21, I917- 1,326,989. Patented m 6,1920.

I4 SHETS-SHEEI 2- *9 mmamn or "a ATTORNEY A. SUNDH. AUTGMATIC BLOCKING 'MECHAMSM FUR STRIP MILLS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-2h I9]?- I I Patented Jan. 6, 1920. (A

I I4 SHEETS-SHEEI 3. k

' INVHITOH ATTORNEY A. SUNDH.

AUTOMATIC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP MILLS.

APILICATION mzo NOV. 21. 1912.

Patented J an. 6, 1920.

14 SHEETS-SHED 4- APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2h I917- H SHEETS-SHED 5- Patented J an. 1920.

w IN H I I HI I II Il I l IIII'UII J u H udlw fi II ZTORNEI' A. SUNDH. AUTOMATIC BLOCKWG MECHANISM FDR STfHP MILLS. APPLICATION mw HOV- 21.1911.

ill km Z///// N .M

Patented Jim 6,1920

M SHEETS-SHEEI 6 INVENTOH WM mama A. SUNDH. AUTOMATIC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP MILLS.

APPLICATION man u0v.21, new. 1 Patented Jan. 6, 1929.

A. SUNDH. AUTOMATIC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP MILLS. wfiww A. SUNDH. AUTOMATIC BLOfIKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP MILLS.

. APPL'ICATION FILED n0v.2x, 1911. 1,326,989. I Patented Jan. 6,1920.

14 snens-suesr 9. 75

W Arm/Mr .A. SUNDH. AUTOMAHC BLOCKING MECHANISMFOH STRIP MILLS.

, APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2!, I91?- '1 ,326,989. Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

I4 SHEETS-SHEET ID A. SUNDH. AUTOMATIC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP MILLS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, I9IT. 1,326,989. Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

I4 SHEETSSHEEI I I- A. SUNDI-I. AUTOMATIC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP MILLS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-21, 19H.

yatented Jan. 6, 1920.

I4 SHEET$-SHEET I2- ATTORNEY A. SUNDH. [\UTOMAHC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP MILLS.

APPUCATION FLED NOV.2l, 19!]. 1,326,989, latented Jan. 6,1920

v I E1: "*0 W INVENTOR A TT 08/15 Y A. SUNDH. AUTOMATIC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP mus.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2|, I917. 1,326,989. Patented Jan. 6,1920.

14 SHEETSSHEEI l4.

INVENTOI? 8) z yam ATTORNEY UNITED STATES AUGUST SUNDH, F HASTINGS-fi'POH -HUDSON, NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC BLOCKING MECHANISM FOR STRIP-MILLS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUcUs'r SUNDH, a

citizen of the United States, residing at' Hastings-upon-Hudson, in the county of till VVestchester and State of New York, have invented new and useful llmprovements in Automatic Blocking Mechanism -for Strip- Mills, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to arr-improvement in strip blocking mechanism, and particularly to that type of machine wherein metal strips, after passing through the strip mill,

will be automatically attached to blocking mechanism andwound or coiled thereon.

llt is an object of this invention to provide such an apparatus that the strip he blocked without personal attention on the part of the operator, thus removing the cause of frequent and sometimes serious ac cidents prevalent in strip clocking machines wherein the'operation is partially or wholly performed by hand. V

Before passing to a detailed description of my apparatus, 1 shall set out here in more or less general terms, the principle and operation of my device, as an aid to a full and complete understanding, of the/ apparatus which I shall describe fully in detail later on.

The block on which the strips a e wound, comprises a cylindrical, sectionalx casing, having a slot or strip-receiying opening in its periphery, and extending longitudinally thereof, by means of which the strip may enter to the interior of the casing, there to be attached to it. Initially this casing is standing still, but may he rotated into position to bring the slot into position to receive the strip by means of a hand wheel.

lln order that this slot, after the casing has been properly adjusted, be held in such position, it becomes necessary to provide some holding mechanism therefor, and l have provided means for this purpose, which While adapted to hold the casing'in proper position initially, nevertheless will he automatically released at the proper instant, to permit thecasing to he rotated and the strip to be coiled thereon. v

Within the casing, l have provided mechanism for clamping'the strip thereto, this mechanism, after the strip has been clamped,-

acting also as a clutch to rotate the whole block. In order to takecare of wear of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

Application filed November 21, 1917. Serial No. 203,267.

clamping mechanism and also to provide for blocking strips of varying thickness, the clamping mechanism is adjustable. To drive this mechanism, andthereby the block ,as a unit, I have provided an alternating current electric motor, it being understood, Oil (301E558, that the type of motor used is optional with the user. The circuit of this motor is controlled manually; mechanical brake mechanism provided for the motor,

being arranged to be released by operation of the switch which controls the motor, so

that as themotor circuit is closed, the brake will lift to permit the motor to rotate. "lhe motor is connected to the block through a fluid clutch, which is adjustable and capable of being set so as to cause the strips to he Wound under practically constant tension.

As in machines of this character, the loloch is placed some distance from the strip mill, it becomes necessary to provide some guiding mechanism to guide the strip in its passage from the strip mill to the block. it have provided guiding mechanism for this purpose, which is actuated into guiding position manually, at the same time, and by the same operatinglever used in closing the main switch which controls the motor, but

which is automatically moved out of guiding position when the strip is attached to the lolock. l have provided mechanism, also, whereby, should for any reason the strip buckle and plug in its passage through the guides, the latter will automatically move out of guiding position and release the strip, so as to prevent injury to the machine, manually operahle means being pro vided for this purpose also. This is true only up to the time that the strip reaches the block and is attached thereto, for it will be understood that after the strip has been attached to the block, the ,guiding mechanism is moved out of operative position, and the strip being wound under tension will not buckle.

Sometimes it is necessary to coil strips of such a thickness that they cannot be'liandled by a blocking machine, and for this purpose a machine known in the art as a coiler is used. 'Therefore, in order that the same strip mill which I use with my blocking machine may he available for use with a coiler, l have arranged my present apparatus so that it may he moved bodily away from in front of the stripimill, sothat a coile'r may be substituted therefor. It is necessary also that the block be parallel with the rolls of and feed the strip through the strip mill.

Closure of the main switch will close the main motor circuits, to start the driving motor which 'drives the strip attaching mechanism; and also closes several contacts which are in the circuit for various electromagnets necessary for the operation of the machine. One magnet is provided for the purpose of actuating the strip-attaching mechanism to attach the strip to the block.

, This magnet receives its current from a .strip in its movement t source of direct current supply, but its circuit is not closed until an electro-magnet having two windings, one of which receives its energy from batteries, closes a relay, the battery circuit bein controlled by the Erough the guiding mechanism, and both circuits being controlled by the main'switch already referred to. The guiding mechanism is controlled by means of another electromagnet, the cir-- cuit for which is controlled by the main switch, and by the strip itself. The guiding mechanism is brou ht into operative position manually, at t e same time the main switch is closed, but so soon as the strip is attached to the block, the guiding mechahism is automatically withdrawn. If for any reason the strip should become buckled and plugged in its travel through the guiding mechanism, before becoming attached to the block, the guiding mechanism will be automatically wlthdrawn and thus prevent injury to the machine.

In a machine of this character, therefore, it becomes necessary for the operator merely to operate the lever controlling the main switch, and then insert the end of the strip in thestrip mill. I

In the drawings accompanying this application, Figure 1 is an elevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is a plan view; Fig.- 3 is an end elevation of the block and side elevation of the guidingmechanismyFig. 4 is a part sectional elevation view taken from the opposite side of the. machine from that of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a part sectional side elevation showing in section the driving mechanism and the operating mechanism for the strip attaching device for the machine; Fig.

lied on the bed of the machine.

6 is a longitudinal section through the block and strip attaching mechanism; Fi 7 is across section of the block and strip 0 amping mechanism, taken on the line AA of Fi 6; Fig. 8 1s an end elevation of the bloc and strip attaching mechanism;'Fig. 9 is a view taken on the line B-B of Fig. 6; Fig. 10 is a part sectional elevation view of the guiding mechanism showin it in guiding position; Fig. 11 shows in e evatign part of the guidlng mechanism with a strip buckled and plugged therein; Fig. 12 is an enlarged elevation of the strip contact mechanism Fig. 13 is a plan of the mechanism of Fig. 12; Fig. 14: is a part sectional elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 13, looking from left to right; Fig. 15 shows in elevation the main and auxiliary switches; Fig. 16 is an elevation of the main switch mechanism of Fig. 15, looking from left to right; Fig. 17 is an elevation of the auxiliary switch of Fig. 15, also looking from left to right; Fig. 18 is an elevation view showing the arrange- Ifient of the batteries, switches, etc; Fig. 19

is a view taken on the line C-C of Fig. 5;

Fig. 20'shows the operating mechanism for the main sWitch; Fig. 21 is a plan of part of the mechanismof Fig. 20; F1g. 22 is a part sectional elevation view of the clutc mecha-.

nism showing the means whereby leakage of fluid from the clutch is taken care of;

Fig. 23 is a diagrammatic plan of the whole machine showing the various circuits therefor; Figs. 24, 25 and 26 are wiring diagrams showing the various circuits for the control and operation of'the machine; and Fig. 27 is a fragmentary view showing the end of the bedplate on which the machine rests and the mechanism whereby the block may be readily adjusted relatively to the strip mill rolls.

Like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the various figures of the drawings.

g The block.

are supported by the section 2, which in turn is secured to a member 5, by means of screws 6, 6. The member 5 is carried by a hollow shaft 7 extending longitudinally of the block, throu hout its entire length, this shaft at its right and end, as viewed in Fig. 5, being secured to a shaft 7 passing through bearings 8, 8, in supports 9. 9, carthe sections 1 and 4 of the block, a strip-receiving longitudinal slot iqis left, this slot being wide enough for the rece\ption of the Between thickest strip blocked, but being capable of being partially closed when the strip has become attached to the block, so as to present a practically unbroken cylindrical surface for the strip to be coiled upon. As the slot 'must be in position to receive the stri as it comes from the strip mill, I have prov1ded adjusting means for the block, comprising a hand wheel 11 (see Fig. 6) which surrounds the end of the section 2 of'the block and is secured thereto and to the member 5 by the screws 6 already mentioned. Inasmuch as the member 5 is rotatable on the hollow shaft 7, it is apparent that by move ment of the hand wheel 11, the slot 10 in the tudinally of the block, and inasmuch as the bore of theblock is ta ered and likewise the periphery of the mem er 19, the member 19.

block may be brought into strip receiving position. The block after being adjusted is held in position by means of a. member 12,

which engages a detent 13 (see Figs. 3 and i) The operation of formed in the member 5. this member will be taken up later on. Carried within the hollow shafts 7 and 'Z and extending throughout practically their entire length, is a shaft 14, adapted to be moved longitudinally thereof and to the right as viewed in Fig. 5, by means of an electromagnet 15, secured to and carried at the right hand end of the hollow shaft 7, the end of this shaft 14c which is reduced in diameter, being screwed into the core 16 of the magnet. A coil spring 17 is carried bythe shaft 14, one end abutting a shoulder 18 formed on the shaft, and its other end abut ting the end of the magnet 15. From Fig.5 it will be seen that the shaft 14- when pulled to the right by energization of the magnet 15, will be actuated in the opposite direction under the action of the spring 17, when the magnet is deenergized. The bore of the -.-,block is tapered, and, extending into this bore is a hollow tapered plug 19, adapted to be moved longitudinally of the block by movement 0f,the hollow shaft 14:, through mechanism presently to be described, to attach the strip to the block or release it therefrom as the case may be. This plug or strip-attaching: member is operatively connected to the shaft 141', by means of gears 20,

"20, mounted on supports 21 integral withthe shaft 7, pinions 22, 22, being carried by the supports 21 and adapted to rotate with the gears .20, 20. These pinions mesh with gears 23, 23, carried by'the supports 21, 21, the gears 23 being let into the shaft 7 so that their teeth engage rack teeth 24, 24, cut into the surface of the shaft 1a. As shown in Fig. 7, the ears 23, 23, are preferably set opposite eac other across the center line of the s haft 14. Teeth 25, 25 are cut in the bore of the plug or strip-attaching member 19, and engage the gears 20. The bore of the strip attaching member 19 is straight. If the rod 14: be actuated, the

plug 19, through the medium of the train of will approach or retire from the block, to either attach the strip to the block or release it, as the case may be. For the purpose of guiding the member 19 in its movement, I

have provided members 26 on the insideof the member and extending inwardly therefrom, four in all, these members having a tongue and groove connection with laterally extending members 27 formed on the shaft 7. In order that/T may adjust the space between the strip attaching member 19 and the inside of the block, to accommodate the block to strips'of varying thickness, l have arranged the stationarycore 28 as shoWn in 5. That is to say the core is screwed into the magnet frame, and of course by screwing this core in and out, the amount of movement of the shaft i land therefore of the strip-attaching member 19 is varied as desired. The core 28 is held in adjusted position by means of a lock nut 29.

Strip guidz'agmechamism. The mechanism for guiding the strips from the strip mill rolls to the block, will with the mill rolls. These plates are beveled and are provided for the purpose of scraping the strip from the rolls or the mill, for as the strips are put through the strip mlll under pressure they are inclined to stick to the rolls. In the upper guide member, 30, l have provided a hinged section 35, hinged at the end most distant from the strip mill, and designated 36 on the drawings. @rdinarily this hinged section is in the position shown in Fig. 10, and is maintained in such position by the spring 37. But, should for any reasonythe strip buckle and plu passing through the guides, the buclrled strip, designated 38 in Fig, 11, will raise the section 35 to the, position shown in Fig. 11 to close contacts 39 and all to cause the guide members to be moved'out of guiding position in a manner hereinafter described. A lever 41 is mounted on a rod 42 carried at the top of the stands 32 and 33, this le ver carrying at its outer'end a coil spring 43, the other end of which is secured-to the the spring 43 will always be under tension to cause the plate 34 carried by the guide member 30 to always be in firm engagement uide member 30. The lever 41 is with the 11 per roll of the strip mill. The lower gui e member carries a coil spring 44, secured to any suitable part of the body or frame of the machine by a turn buckle 45, this spring being provided forthe ur- -pose of always maintaining the lower p ate 34 carried by the guide member 31in firm engagement with the lower mill roll. In machines of' this character, the' strips are blocked or'wound under tension so as to make anice smooth coil, and therefore after the strip has once been attached to the block,

it is no longer necessary to guide it, and forthis reason I have provided mechanism to move the guides out of, guiding position after the strip has been attached to the block,

guide members through the stands 32., and

33. The rod 46,ha's vertical movement relatively to the stands 32 and 33 being guided in such movement by slots 50, 50, cut in the stands. The lower guide member 31 has secured thereto a link 51, which is pivotally secured to a lever 52 carried by and keyed to the rod 49. A chain 53 to the lower end of which a weight 54 is attached passes over a pulley 55 carried by a bracket 56 and around a pulley 57 to which it is fastened,

' said pulley being mounted on the rod 49.

Another pulley 58 is also carried by the rod 49, and has.secured thereto one end ofa chain 59, the other end of which passes around a sheave 60 mounted on a rod 61.

carried by the frame of the machine, and is secured to the end of a lever'62 carried by a rod 63 which is mounted on the frame of the machine. An operating lever 64 formed integral with the lever 62, isadapted when moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 3, to swing the lever 62 upwardly about the rod 63 and thereby, through the medium of the chain 59, rotate the pulley 58'in an anticlockwise direction. The pulleys 58 and 57, to the latter of which the chain 53 carrying the weight 54 is attached, are connected to the rod 49, and as one end of the chain 53 carrying the Weight is fastened to the pulley 57, rotation of the pulley 58 will cause the weight 54 to move upwardly. At the same time the end of the upper guide member 30 will be moved downwardly and the lower guide member 31 will be moved horizontally toward the block, until the guide members are in the position shown in Fi 10. As the weight 54 is now suspended m the air, it becomes necessary to provide means for holding it in such a position, and to this end I have provided a cam '65 mounted on the rod 49, this cam bein adapted, when the guides are moved to guiding position, to engage one end of 'a lever 66 carried by a rod 67 mounted on a bracket 68 forming part of the-frame of the machine. This rod 67 carries the member 12 which is adapted to engage the 'detent 13 to hold the block stationary until the strip is attached thereto, and also carries a bell crank lever 69, the latter carrying a weight 70. Attached to one end of the lever 69 is the core 71 of an electromagnet 72, the energization of which is controlled by the strip, as will be explained later on. Energization of this magnet will causeit to pull-in its core, which will actuate the levers 12 and 66 to move the former out of engagement .with the detent 13, and the latter out of engagement with the cam 62. The weight 54 is then free to drop and move the guides 30 and 31 into the posltion shown in Fig. 3. If desired, however, these guides may be. moved out of guiding position by merely .actuating the lever 69 manually, which bein attached to the core of the electromagnet 72-will move the same inwardly, 1 just as though the magnet had been energized. This is merely an emergency operation, however, as ordinarily the magnet 72 will be energized and do its work.

Strip Contact mechanism.

79 is carried by the rod 75 and is adapted to be moved longitudinally thereof, bein held in any desired position by means of a t umb screw 80, the end of which passes through the member 79 and engages the frame 73. A member 76 straddlin the member 79 is also carried by the rod 5 on which it has rotary movement. The member 76 which extends at right angles to the rod.7 5, carrles contact rollers 77, which are let down through the upperguide member, and when the guiding members are in guiding position rests on a strip of insulation 81 carried by the lower guiding member. The other end of the member 76 carries a weight 78, which is provided for the purpose of regulating the pressure with which the contact 120 roller bears on the strip being coiled. This weight is held in adjusted posltion by means of a thumb screw 82. The frame 73 is insulated from the guiding member 30 by insulation 83, and the bolts 74 are also in- 125 sulated by insulation 84.

Clutch and driving nwcIzam's-m.

comprise an electric motor M, shown as an .cured to the armature shaft of the motor is a gear 85 meshing with a large gear 86. The latter has securedto it aclutch'housing 87 and a clutch housing cover 88 is secured to the housing 87." Withinthe housing 87 and mounted on the shaft 7 to which 1t 1s keyed (the shaft 7 being secured to the shaft 7 carrying the block) is a gear 89, thisgear meshing with a'gear 90 mounted on a pin 91 having bearings in the clutch housing 87 and clutch housing cover 88. The clutch is preferably filled with oil. From the foregoing, it will be a parent that energization of the motor will cause the gears 85 and 86 to rotate, which through the medium of the gears 89 and 90, and the fluid with which the clutch is filled will cause the shaft 7 to rotate so long as all the fluid within the clutch is not allowed to by-pass. In order that the strips may be blocked under a practically constant tension, that is to say, so that when the pressure within the clutch, due to a strip being blocked, tends to rise above a predetermined value there Wlll be a slip between the block and the driving motor M, I have provided pressure regulatmg means which will now be described.

This mechanism comprises a valve 96 controlling a port 97 communicatin with the pressure side of the clutch. It Wlll be ObVlous, therefore, that regulation of this valve will vary the pressure within the clutch. The valve is seated by a spring98 capable of adjustment by a stem 99, the valve being held in adjusted position by a lock nut 100.

In practice the valve 97 is set for a certain predetermined pressure and so long as the "pressure within the clutchdoes not rise above this predetermined ressure the valve,

of course, remains seate So soon, however, as the pressure in the clutch, due to the strip being blocked, tends to rise above this value as it will, owing to the diameter of the roll increasing as the strip is being blocked,

- the valve 97 will lift against the action of the spring 98to permit more fluid to by pass, than has been permitted to by-pass previously, thereby reducing the pressure 1n theclutch to the predetermined amount for. which the machine is set to cause the strlp to be wound under a practically constant tension.

Mounting for the machine.

or rod'117.

rolls, I have provided a hole in theend of v the plate 0, in which fits a plug 101, this plug having a boss atthe bottom thereof eccentric thereto, this boss extendin' downwardly into a hole in the floor. A olding member 102 holds the lug in position relative to the plate. hen it is desired to swing the whole machine from in front of the stri mill, the bolts holding the plate C to the oor are taken out and the whole machine may then'be swung about the eccentric boss at the bottom of the plug 101. When swung back again into place there is no more adjustment of the plug 101 required. In other words after once being set up, the

' machine may be swung away from the strip mill whenever desired, and then swung back agam lnto 'exact position without any further ad ustment.

lllMiTLSlUitCh and relay and their operation. 1

The switches controlling the operation of 7 carried in supports 105. The switch has four arms 106, 107, 108 and 109, each of which carries contacts and also has formed thereon bosses 110 engaging coil springs 111 for the purpose of opening the switch when it is desired to stop the. motor. The switch is closed by means of the lever 64 which actuates the guides into guiding position. A chain 185 is attached to the lever (see Fig. 1), the other end of which is secured to a pulley 186 mounted on a rod 115. A foot pedal'112 is integral with a segmental gear 113 mounted on the rod or stud 61 this pedal being available also to close the main switch. This segmental gear meshes with a gear 114 mounted on the rod 115 already referred to. Thisrod passes through a slot 116 in a rod 117 one end of which is connected to a rod 118 secured to the switch 103.. Carried by the rod is. a cam 119 adapted to be held in position by a set screw.120. This cam engages a shoulder 121 formed on the shaft Now if thelever 64 be actuated or the pedal 112 be depressed, the shaft 115, and therefore the cam 119, will be rotated to force the rod 117 to the left as viewed in Fig. 20, which by its connection to the rod 118 will close the switch 103. Carried by the "rod 115 at its extreme outer end is a cam 121 on which rests the end of a brake shoe 12.2, which is adapted to engage a brake pulley 123 on.the motor armature shaft. This shoe carries a weight 124 for the purpose of applying the brake. The cam is so set,'that when the lever 64 is actuated to close the main switch in the manner just described, the cam 121 will lift the brake shoe 122. A pedal 125 is integral with thepedal 112, and when depressed it will move the cam 121 sothat the brake may go on again, and also at the same time move the earn 119 away from the projection 121 on the rod 117 and permit the springs 111 to open the switch arms 106, 10 108 and 109, returning the rod 117 relative to the cam 119to the position shown in Fig. 20.

The auxiliary switch or relay 130, controlled bythe main switch 103 is provided for the purpose of controlling the wind ng 15 and themagnet 72. The relay comprises arms 131 and 132 carrying contacts, these arms being pivoted 'on the rod and adapted to be actuated by-an electroina et havlng two windings 135-5 and 136. he Winding 136 is adapted to receive current from batteries 137, the battery circuit being controlled by the strip in its passage through the guides. The winding 135 receives its energy from a source of direct current, and

this Winding is provided for the purpose of maintaining the relay closed .throughout the coiling operation, for as the guidingmechanism is moved out of guiding position after the strip has been once attached to the block, the winding of the relay which is controlled by the strip will be denergized at that time, therefore, in order that the elec tromagnet 15 be energized throughout the blocking operation, the relay 135 is maintained energized independently of the position of the strip in the guides.

In order that the machine as a whole may present a good appearance, I have placed the batteries for supplying current to one of the windings of the relay, the relay itself, the main switch, and the electromagnet controlling-the weight for actuating the guides, all in one compartment or receptacle at the side of the machine, where they also will kind, etc.

A cycle of operation.-

I shall now proceed to describe a complete cycle of operation of the whole apparatus. Initially, the guiding mechanism is in the position shown in Fig. 3, for instance.

The operator grasps the lever 64, and pulls it to the right as viewed in Fig. 3, which will. .act through the lever 62 and chain 59 to rotate the pulleys 58 and 57 to. pull the weight 54 upwardly, and at-the same time actuate the guiding members 30 and '31,

through the levers 48 and 52,. and links 47 and 51, into the position shown Fig. 10, which is their strip-guiding pos1tion. Ac-

any

causes the cam 65 to be rotated into position.

to engage the lever 66 to hold the weight 54 suspended in the air by the chain 53. The

lever 64 is then returned to the position shown in Fig. 3. The block ma then be rotated, by means of the hand w eel 11, into position to bring the strip receiving slot 10 abreast of the end of the guiding members 30 and 31,.as shown in. Fig. 10, at which time the end if thelever 12 will engage-the detent 13 to maintain the block in such adjusted position, The block is now ready tb receive the strip. Movement of the lever 64 to adjust the guiding mechanism, also,

through the chain 185, rotates the rod 115, which actuates the cam 119 to close the main' switch 103, and at the same time actuates the cam 121 to lift the brake shoe 122. C10- sure of the switch 103 will close the circuits sis of the motdr M, which may be traced as follows: from the main designated I, conductor 140, contacts 141, 141, conductor 142, through the motor M, conductor 143, and out at II; also from the main designated III, conductor 144, contacts 145, conductor 146, through the motor M, and out at II. The

motor, the brake being lifted, will now. start to rotate, and thigough the clutch mechanism of Figs. '5 and 22, will rotate the shafts 7 and'7, and through them the strip-clamping member 19 of Fig. 6. At this time,'however, the member 19 is in the position shown in Fig.. 6, and consequently the block remains stationary. 4

.The strip may now be inserted between the rolls of the strip mill, designated SM,

and will be fed thereby between the guide members 30 and 31. As the strip reaches and engages the contact roller 77, a circuit will be closed for the winding 136 of the relay 130, from the batteries, one side of the latter being rounded on the guides or any suitable part of the machine. This circuit may be traced as follows: 'from the plus side of the batteries, by way 'of conductor 147, grounded on the lower guide member 31, through the strip, contact roller 77, conductor 148, contacts 149, controlled by the ,switch 103, and now closed, conductor 150,

controlled by the relay, conductor 154, contacts 155 also controlled by the relay,- conductor 156, contact 157 of the magnet 15, conductor 158,. winding of the magnet 15., 

